Again
by Melrose Stormhaven
Summary: ByaRuki. He promised to protect her, and he will not fail her again. When Rukia commits a terrible crime, Byakuya does everything he can to help her. But in helping her, Byakuya gets far more than he has bargained for.


Title: Again 

**Disclaimer: **Bleach characters are not mine. They belong to Kubo Tite.

**Author's note:** Plot bunnies are insane. Help me. I'm an IchiRuki fan, but somehow, ByaRuki wins over me all the time. This fic is set several years from the current timeline.

**Ratings:** PG-13. Angst. Crap. I can't believe I'm writing angst again.

**Pairings:** Byakuya x Rukia; Ichigo x Rukia; Byakuya x Hisana; Renji x Rukia

**Summary:** He promised to protect her, and he will not fail her again. When Rukia commits a terrible crime, Byakuya does everything he can to help her. But in helping her, Byakuya gets far more than he has bargained for.

Chapter I: Sentencing 

When Renji entered the room, Rukia rose from her seat, the only furniture she was allowed in her cell. Her eyes glittered as she watched Renji approach her. Her gaze swept over the scroll Renji carried, then back to his face. She walked closer to him, her every movement graceful and quick.

"Is this the day I die, Renji?" Rukia said calmly, her voice as cool and brittle as ice. In her plain white robes and with her long, dark hair, Rukia looked her sword's avatar come to life. Her beautiful face showed no emotion, only her delicate features–the high cheekbones, the small mouth with lips half-parted, and eyes as wide and wise as the world.

Renji forced himself to look into her eyes, pain stabbing into his heart as he did. Her eyes held no joy in them, and only the barest hint of fear. "Don't say that! You're not going to die today." He clutched the scroll he held tighter, and cleared his throat. Part of him wanted to be elated at the news he was about to bring, but Rukia's strangeness denied him of any joy he should have felt. "They have sentenced you to house arrest, Rukia."

Silence followed his announcement, and then Rukia let out a rush of breath. "House arrest. They have sentenced me to _house arrest_." She spoke the words slowly, sounding as if she didn't believe it. She closed her eyes, and was still for a moment, her fingers entwined together. Then her shoulders started to shake, and to Renji's alarm, she began to laugh.

"Rukia! What the hell is wrong with you! Snap out of it!" Her harsh, mad laughter echoed across her prison, frightening Renji with its otherworldliness. He wished he could shake her, slap her, but the bars of her prison prevented him. She rocked on her heels, her arms wrapped around herself. "Rukia!"

At Renji's shout of her name, she stopped laughing and rocking herself, but her arms remained where they were. "It would have been better," she said quietly, glancing away from him, "if they had sentenced me to die."

"Don't be stupid! Ichigo–" he stopped when he saw her shoulders tense. Faint and weakened as it was, he felt her reiatsu flare out, tendrils of it brushing coldly against his in warning. He swallowed hard and went on in a gentler voice, "Ichigo would have wanted you to live."

Her reiatsu fell in a subtle ebb, and she lowered her eyes. "Would he?"

"Yes!" Renji said in a fierce voice. He gripped the bars, pressing his face between them. "Ichigo understands. He knows that whatever you did, you did for love."

Her eyes found his, and Renji could see the grief in them, a grief far too deep for him to truly understand. She reached out, and trailed her bandaged fingers against his cheek. Her lips curved up, but it was not smile, only a ghost of it. "The things we do for love." Her hands fell to her sides as she moved away, turning her back to him. "Sometimes I think we commit our greatest sins in the name of love. Does love make any difference, Renji? Will love wash away our sins?"

"Rukia…." Unable to say anything, Renji simply stood there, let his hands slide down the bars and then clenched them into fists. He never felt so useless as now, standing here, watching the woman he loved hurt, and could do nothing about it.

She glanced over her shoulder and stared at him for what seemed like a long time. Then her lips twitched and she said, "Don't look like that, Renji. It makes you look like a kicked gorilla. A particularly ugly one, too, with all your crazy tattoos." She sat back on her chair and placed her hands on her lap, clasping them together. "So, who spoke for me? Was it Ukitake-taichou? Or–"

"It was your brother, Kuchiki-taichou." When he saw Rukia's eyes widen with disbelief, he added, "They wanted to punish you with death but Kuchiki-taichou and most of the division captains persuaded them to sentence you to house arrest."

"Really?" she said faintly.

"You should have been there. He defended you…very well. I don't think I haven't seen Kuchiki-taichou as, well, determined, as he was defending you." Renji himself couldn't believe his eyes and ears when Kuchiki Byakuya rose and defended Rukia.

Rukia leaned back on her chair. "I can't believe it." She gave a small laugh. "I ran him through with my sword. I'm not even sure if I should call him Nii-sama, after what I did to him."

"You're his sister, Rukia. And he made a promise to your sister, remember?" Renji smiled slightly. "And I think he did it because, somehow, he understands why you acted that way."

Rukia was silent for a moment, as if trying to process all she had learned. "Well, at least it can't be said that my brother didn't do his duty to me this time around."

Renji was about to say something when he stopped, as he felt a familiar, strong presence close to them. Without looking behind him, Renji knew Kuchiki Byakuya had entered the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Rukia rise from her seat, on her face the same cool, indifferent look he had seen earlier.

"Taichou," Renji said, turning around quickly and bowing. Byakuya inclined his head in acknowledgement, his face devoid of any emotion. "I just informed Rukia of her sentence."

"You have our thanks, Abarai-san." He turned to Rukia, who stood so still it seemed like he was a statue, then to Renji. "I would speak to my sister alone," he said in a tone that brooked no defiance.

Renji flickered a quick glance to Rukia before facing Byakuya again. "Of course, Taichou." He nodded to Rukia, who managed to give him a small nod. He handed her the scroll he carried, and she accepted it with quiet thanks. Then, he slowly left the room, closing the door as he left.

He had only taken a few steps away when he glanced over his shoulder at the door of the room he had just left, wondering if his Captain had heard what Rukia last said.

-------

When his vice-captain had left, Byakuya focused his attention on Rukia. She was thinner now, her cheeks and eyes shadowed and somewhat sunken. Her collarbones rose prominently against her skin, pale, birdlike knobs of flesh and bones. Her hands were bandaged, still healing from the damage they had received from her fights. She stood stiffly in the middle of her cell, her demeanor suddenly wary and defiant, as if she feared he would do something to her.

Her change in attitude vexed him somewhat. He could not the blame her for being apprehensive of his appearance. The last time they had met in this room, it was to announce her execution. He had not wanted her imprisoned here again; had he had his way, Rukia would have remained in a guarded room in the hospital where she could recuperate from her injuries, but her incarceration were insisted upon by his superiors, and Byakuya had no wish to antagonize them before Rukia's trial. He needed every ounce of goodwill to persuade them not to have his sister executed.

It had been difficult to secure his desired outcome, but most of the division captains, including Captain Yamamoto himself, supported his opinions, and all together, they had convinced the elders to refrain from executing Rukia. The relief he felt from their decision was like nothing he had experienced before.

Despite all, in the back of his mind, he wondered if Rukia would actually care that she would live.

Today, he would find out. He and his sister stood in silence for a few moment before Byakuya eventually spoke, "I take it Renji has told you of details of the trial."

She nodded slowly. "I," she began, looking at him in the eyes before bowing her head, "wish to thank you and the Captains for speaking on my behalf. You are all too kind. I feel that in light of my recent behavior that I don't deserve such kindness."

"You are my sister, Rukia," he said the words more sharply than he had intended. She spoke the words with sincerity, yet Byakuya felt a hollowness in them, as if she took no joy in the lengthening of her life. "It is my duty to see to your welfare." He had made a promise to his late wife, and he would not fail her again.

"As for the captains, we were in the opinion that death would be too cruel a punishment for you, and that despite what you have done, you are no longer a threat to Soul Society. Thus, there is no reason to seek for your execution."

"I see." Her shoulders sloped lower, and she looked up again. "Thank you, Nii-sama." Her glanced at his side, searching for something. "Have you…recovered from your wounds?"

"Yes," he answered. "I've recovered from them."

"That is good. I must apologize for–"

"Let us not speak more of that," Byakuya said firmly. He did not want to start things with a discussion of their last fight. "It is in the past."

"Is it?" She smiled then, a small sad smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I had forgotten to ask Renji about the details and conditions of my house arrest," she said, switching topics before Byakuya could reply. "I must confess I couldn't quite believe they would so…lenient in their sentencing."

"You will be under by my supervision during your house arrest," Byakuya told her calmly. Her eyes widened, with shock or fear he could not tell. "Tomorrow morning, you will be moved to your old room. There we will further discuss the conditions of your house arrest."

**T.B.C.**

**Author's note:** Well, that's the beginning? Is it good or bad? Were they OOC? Do tell! I'm sorry if the ByaRuki love isn't so much apparent in this chapter. You'll see more next chapter.

For some strange reason, I kept on imagining Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice while I'm writing this. HELP!

**Rukia's crime: **I'm sure you pretty much know what Rukia's crime was. I'll explain more in the next chapters.

**Thanks for reading! **


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